Tourney Chances for the Jayhawks

Trying to predict the outcome of the annual March Madness extravaganza is never an easy thing.  As parity becomes more prevalent in college basketball (some would argue that it is mediocrity, not parity), the excitement of the tournament has never been higher.  Tuesday night’s play-in games were absolutely thrilling, with one team trailing by 16 points with less than 5 minutes to go, then charging back for the win, and in the other game, one team scored 55 points in the first fifteen minutes, building a 25 point lead, but only scoring 17 points the rest of the way to lose in the end.  What a way to start the tournament!

The Kansas Jayhawks have, in my opinion, overachieved all season.  They ran out basically 5 BCS caliber players and still won the Big XII.  It did not hurt my feelings at all to see them fall early in the conference tournament and then to not have to play until late Friday evening.  This team appeared tired and beat up toward the end of the season and the extra rest certainly will do them no harm.  Yes, it would have been awesome to enjoy yet another KU/MU tilt but I think not having to play a relatively meaningless game against a tough opponent may help KU in the end.

After taking in all the brackets, I did not feel KU got the shaft in their brackets like I usually do.  In fact, after pouring over all of the regions, not one team really jumped out at me as having an overwhelming hard or easy path to the Final Four.  It seems to me that just about every match-up has its risks for the higher seeds.  There just isn’t that much difference in teams this season.  When you have a #15 seed Detroit with more McDonald’s All Americans on its team than #2 seed Kansas, that should tell you all you need to know about the state of college basketball.

I can honestly see KU possibly going down in every round.  Detroit is no slouch and neither St. May’s nor Purdue are pushovers.  KU beat Georgetown earlier in the season but both teams are significantly better than they were.  The Hoyas are a deep, young, athletic team that will be a hard match-up for the Jayhawks.  I assume that either North Carolina or Michigan will make it to the Elite Eight, although there are obviously no guarantees of that either.  If so, KU could beat either team in a scrap.  Of course, they could take a beating from either team, too. 

KU has a recent history of exiting the tournament too early, and with stronger teams than this one.  On the flip side, we as KU fans certainly know how far one player of the year candidate can carry a team.  Kansas has two outstanding players in Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor who will bad match-ups for just about any team.  Throw in a true, shot blocking 7-footer, and a couple of capable, tough defenders, KU’s starting five is as good as any in the nation.  The problem is an achingly thin bench.  If KU gets into any early foul trouble with the top 2 or three players, the lights will dim quickly on the Jayhawks’ hope. 

With all of these things taken into consideration, I think the Jayhawks will make it into the Elite Eight at least.  It would not surprise me at all if the exit earlier than that, and I will be thrilled if they make it to yet another Final Four.  A NC/KU battle for that Final Four spot could be epic.  Ole Roy wouldn’t like it much but as fans, it would be terrific.  If KU could scrap their way into the Final Four, anything could happen.  I think KU is one of eight to twelve teams that have the firepower to win it all. 

Of course, my dream final match-up would be the Kansas Jayhawks versus the Missouri Tigers.  How great would it be to defeat the Tigers in the final game and send them off to the SEC with their tail tucked firmly between their legs.  On the other hand, that match-up would also be my worst nightmare match-up.  Nothing would be worse than for the Tigers to end our great, historic rivalry by beating KU in the National Championship game.  Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, though.  KU has to come out every game and play every minute.  They have a tendency to come out flat, either to begin the game, or out of the locker room after halftime.  This cannot happen in the tourney or they will be done.  They must stay focused, healthy, and out of foul trouble of they want a chance for that Elite Eight.

As I ready for this phenomenally awesome sporting event, I know I will be bitterly disappointed with anything less than an Elite Eight and absolutely thrilled with anything more.  As always, I will cheer my team on as long as they are alive and I will complain initially upon their ouster.  Regardless, I love my team and would never want to follow any other in the country.

Rock Chalk, Jayhawk.  Go KU!!!

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KC's Eternally Springing Hope

At one point, the Kansas City Royals was baseball’s model expansion franchise.  They won their first division title in their eighth year in 1976.  From 1976-1981, the Royals won 5 divisional titles in six years (in the strike split 1981 season, KC won one half of the season and the A’s won the other half – the A’s won a divisional playoff series).  The Royals played in their first World Series in 1980, their 12^th season, and won in 1985.  From 1976-1985, Kansas City was one of the winningest teams in baseball.

There is a perception that the Royals have been terrible since 1985.  That’s not quite true.  From 1986-1994, Kansas City finished over .500 in 6 of those nine seasons, never winning fewer than 72 games.  Since 1995 however, the Royals have been one of the worst franchises in baseball, only finishing above .500 one time (2003).  This time period coincides directly with the time frame in which the Glass family took over the franchise.  They have treated it like their own personal giant, box, discount, retail outlet.  They throw a shoddy product out for consumption and laugh all the way to the bank.  I will never be convinced the Glass family has ever lost so much as a penny on the Kansas City Royals.

In 2006, the Glasses finally did something right.  They hired the hot commodity general manager candidate, Dayton Moore.  Moore was a childhood Royals fan and cut his teeth in the Braves organization.  Moore took the job with the caveat that he would get extended funds to correctly develop and build success from within.  The Royals increased the scouting development and budget and expanded their almost non-existent presence in Latin America.  Money was freed up for draft picks.  The foundation was finally being laid. 

It has been a painful process because, as the minor leagues have set a strong foundation, the structure at the top has been a flimsy, straw shack.  As successful as Moore has been in building up the minor league system, the product he has fielded on the major league level has not been good.  He tried to get things done by bringing in Gil Meche (who was a good signing until Trey Hillman destroyed his arm) and he brought in the only run producer Moore could convince (bribe) to sign in KC, Jose Guillen.  Guillen actually produced some much needed power in his 2-plus seasons but he carried so much baggage, it was hardly noticeable.  Moore also made some inexplicable trades to acquire Coco Crisp and Mike Jacobs, and had some head scratching signings like Scott Podsednik and Jason Kendall.  None of these grasped straws worked out.

Finally, the 2011 season arrives.  Moore went out on a limb again and pulled Jeff Franceour and Melky Cabrera off the scrap heap.  Each showed why they had been top prospects earlier in their careers, producing good numbers all season.  Alex Gordon looked to have finally lived up to his promise.  Billy Butler, after a somewhat slow first half, recovered to be his steady self.  Best of all, we finally started to see some of the fruits of the vaunted “Process”.  Some of the top prospects from their highly praised minor league system began to make their way to Kansas City.  Several pitchers, namely Aaron Crow, Greg Holland, Louis Coleman, Danny Duffy, and Tim Collins appeared early and all made some sort of splash.  Top hitters Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakus made the jump.  Salvador Perez and Johnny Giavotella join in.  This is a huge infusion of youth.  Not all of these kids were successful right away.  Moustakus and Giavotella both struggled, although Moose hit very well over the last six weeks.  Duffy struggled with his control nearly every outing.  All showed hints of great promise but when this many kids make their debut in one season, failure and growing pains are part of the deal.

So what does this mean for the 2012 campaign?  In my opinion, the Royals failed to improve their rotation enough to challenge the Tigers.  It is not realistic to expect every one of those rookies from 2011 to take a big step forward.  There are still going to be some serious growing pains.  My guess is that this team will be extremely streaky throughout the year as these young players grow and adjust. 

Those things aside, I think the AL Central is going to be weak this season.  Other than the Tigers, the other four teams are in some degree of rebuilding.  I like what the Royals are doing the most.  I like their young players better than any other teams’.  Of course, I am a serious “homer”.  I can see this club approaching 80 wins, which is probably good for second place.  It is also possible for everything to fall apart because this is after all, the Royals. Twenty-five years of failure can drain optimism out of a person.

The funny thing is, I think the Royals are going to approach .500.  I think there will be more good than bad from these young fellows.  The fact that over 60 players were in Surprise, Arizona working out, hitting, fielding, and throwing three weeks early is a really positive thing.  These young Royals are actually used to winning.  In each of the past four seasons, the Royals have had the team with the highest winning percentage in all of the minor leagues in their organization.  These young Turks have come up through the system together, winning games.  No one has ever been able to prove the value of chemistry on winning baseball games but I can’t think it hurts.  This team has great camaraderie.  They know each; they get along; the have fun together.  They are hungry to give us long suffering Royals fans something to cheer about.  I am going to watch this bunch and I have every confidence that, despite growing pains, this team is going to win some games.  They are going to be fun to watch.  They are going to give us some reason to actually believe success for our team is getting very close.  If we get some miracle growth and development from the rotation, maybe the Royals can be the talk of baseball in September.  Maybe it is safe to dream once again…

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The End of a Rivalry

If a rivalry has to end, I guess it should end like this one.  This Saturday, Missouri will visit Phog Allen Fieldhouse for the last time, at least for the immediate future.  The atmosphere in the Phog should be spectacular from start to finish and it should be a fitting end to the 104-year old hoops rivalry.

What is so great about this final regular season match-up is that there is a lot riding on the outcome.  A Kansas win will guarantee the Jayhawks at least a share of the Big XII basketball championship for the eighth straight season.  A Missouri win will put the Tigers in a position to share the conference championship or to win it outright, in their last season.  If they beat the Jayhawks for the second time this season, they will be the number one seed in the Big XII tournament if they tie for the title.  On top of everything else, the winner has a great shot at being named a number one seed in the NCAA tournament.

Missouri would love to win the Big XII as a final raspberry as they exit the league and to knock off KU at the Phog, where KU has won something like 89 of their last 90 home games.  Nothing pleases the Tiger fans more than beating the Jayhawks, and vice versa.  Even though Kansas holds a gigantic advantage in the series, the rivalry certainly seems closer than the 171-95 head-to-head record would indicate.  As a Jayhawk fan, it seems like every time KU has been highly rated and played Missouri, especially in Columbia, the Tigers have ripped out our hearts.  Without looking up the results of every match-up, it seems to me that players like Steve Stipanovich, Jon Sundvold, Derrick Chevious, Doug Smith, Anthony Peeler, Linus Kleiza, and Marcus Denmon (plus many others) all played their very best against Kansas.  Anything can happen in this rivalry, including a massive melee in 1961 where punches were thrown and fans dove into the scrum.  Even the women’s teams have been known to mix it up at times. 

As fans of sports, rivalries such as these are what keep us going.  It gives us things to discuss and to look forward to.  We love these games.  We love to beat our rivals and we are loathe to lose to them.  There are few rivalries more passionate than this in all of sports.  The rivalry is bound in historic dimensions, going back to the 1850’s, when Jayhawkers from Kansas and bushwhackers from Missouri raided across the Missouri River to burn and pillage.  It is hard to compare to that.  Even their football programs, each historically mediocre at best, are nearly neck in neck, with the Tigers holding a slim lead in the series, 57-54-9, and even one of those wins is disputed by both schools. 

Now the rivalry is coming to an end.  Missouri has decided, with all of its higher educated wisdom, to abandon the Big XII for the proverbial greener grass of the SEC.  Only time will tell but it is my opinion that Missouri will quickly become a bottom half football program in the SEC, which is sad because the Tigers have worked hard to gain respectability on a yearly basis in the Big XII.  In basketball, Missouri could work up to a top half program but is all that worth throwing away so much history?  I certainly don’t think so. 

Regardless of my opinion on Missouri leaving the conference, I will miss the yearly match-ups.  Even if they powers that be eventually agree to a yearly renewal of this great rivalry, it will be watered down.  It won’t mean as much as the conference battles and if it is in neutral Kansas City, and not on the campuses, it will be diluted even more.  If those games are ever scheduled in the future, I am just having a hard time believing the games will be filled with the same passion. 

Of course, this may not be the last game between the teams this season.  They are the cream of the crop in the Big XII and could easily meet in the tournament championship game.  They will both be seeded one or two in the NCAA tournament; wouldn’t it be awesome if they met in the Final Four!

Regardless if they meet each other at some point in the post season or if they ever play each other again, this Saturday is going to be special.  I will cheer the Jayhawks on with all my heart.  I will yell and complain and verbally cajole my team on from opening tip to final buzzer.  I will groan and sulk at every call that goes against the Jayhawks.  I am going to revel in every moment.  I am going celebrate a victory or bemoan a loss but either way, it’s going to be a great day.  No matter how the game unfolds, it’s a great way to end a great rivalry.  My only regret is that it is over.

(Note - The final regular season game between these great rivals didn't disappoint.  KU came back from a 19 point, second half deficit to win in overtime, 87-86.  It was a fitting end to the 8th most played basketball series in college basketball history.  Rock Chalk, Jayhawk!

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The Jayhawks' Down Year

I have always admired Bill Self and I consider him a great college basketball coach.  We all know he is a terrific recruiter and one of the best coaches roaming the sidelines.  Coach Self though, did suffer through one of his worst recruiting seasons of his career last year.  He got caught in late May waiting on a handful of young studs to make their decisions on which college they would attend and Self missed on most of them.  Self was forced to scrape together some leftovers and scraps just out fill out his roster.  Of the guys that chose KU, three were eventually deemed ineligible by the NCAA and one subsequently left the program.  Self was left with his most shallow bench, by far, for this team.

Self seems to have learned his lesson when it comes to waiting for young, flighty, self-absorbed children to make up their minds about where they want to play their one year of college ball.  Self has locked up most of his recruits for next season already and he won’t be relying on any late signers to make or break next year’s roster.  Most, if not all of the signed players, are good students and should not have any NCAA academic issues. 

Now, let’s return to the thought about Self being a great coach.  This version of the Jayhawks features one big, super-stud in Thomas Robinson.  T-Rob is a beast, a match-up problem for almost any college teams.  KU also relies on a flighty, inconsistent, often times, brilliant guard in Tyshawn Taylor.  Many fans have been quite harsh with Taylor, and sometimes he has earned this, but KU would not be anywhere near as good as they are without him.  While his uneven play will undoubtedly cost the Jayhawks a win or two, his athleticism and skills with certainly win the Jayhawks many more games than he will lose.  He has already done so.  I think fans need to accept Taylor for what he is and be glad he plays for us and not someone else.

Jeff Withey has been better than I ever thought he would be.  While he is not a perfect player, he offers so much that is positive to this team.  I think he has been the biggest key to the success of his team thus far, more than any other single player.  The starting line up is rounded out by a couple of players in Elijah Johnson and Travis Releford who have developed into decent role players.  While I think both are underachievers on the offensive end, both have been playing terrific defense and in Self’s system, this is as important as scoring points.  EJ especially needs to gain offensive confidence if the Jayhawks hope to go very deep into the NCAA tournament.

The bench is where Self’s recruiting shortcomings really rears its ugly head.  Self is basically stealing minutes of rest with just three players, none of which are really good enough to be playing regularly in a conference as good as the Big XII.  Conner Teahan is the most disappointing because he is supposed to be a three point specialist and he has struggled mightily most of the season.  Let’s face facts here – if Teahan isn’t hitting 3’s, he isn’t contributing much.  His defense is barely adequate and he often looks overmatched on both ends of the court.  He does hustle and rebound but most times, it is not enough.  Kevin Young and Justin Wesley are both just foul fodder.  There have been few seasons when either of these guys would have been good enough to see any court time at KU.  Again, they work hard but just fall short of being skilled enough to make much more than an occasional positive contribution.

This team reminds me a little of the 1987-1988 champions.  Each features one incredible player of the year candidate and not a whole lot else.  Each team had some big ups and downs throughout the season.  This biggest difference is that this squad has overachieved most of the season.  They have been a ranked team all year.  They still have a great chance to win another league championship.  I can not predict at this time how I think they will do in the NCAA tournament.  I can easily see this team losing in one of the first two rounds.  When a team is as shallow as this one is, a single game can easily be influenced heavily and negatively, by foul trouble or a slight injury.  If KU would lose early in the tourney this season, I would be disappointed but not overly surprised.  Self’s teams do have a history of early exits in the tournament.

On the other hand, we all know perfectly well that a single player can throw a team over his shoulder and carry them to the promise land.  We have seen it firsthand.  T-Rob could be this kind of player.  Robinson also has a very talented caddy in Taylor, who could easily go on a six-game hot streak and propel KU right into the Final Four and maybe even to a championship.  Coach Bill Self has a history here too.  We all know he has a championship under his belt as well as some of those early exits. 

I think if this turns out to be KU’s down year and Coach Self learns from his past mistakes in recruiting, as it appears he has, we as KU fans should feel very fortunate.  There are a lot of schools out there who love to be ranked in the top ten and be tied for first in their conference in a down season.  This may very well be Self’s greatest coaching job.  He has worked miracles with a team with very few BCS-type players.  As KU fans, we are definitively spoiled rotten.  I, for one, don’t mind.   I am looking forward to the last few weeks of the regular season and the tourney season.  I will cheer the Jayhawks on for however long they last in the post season and I will probably be disappointed and a little mad if, or when, we lose.  Yet, I wouldn’t want to follow any other team or coach.  Rock Chalk!

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Tired of Waiting for Next Year

We still have a few weeks before the beginning of Spring Training and I find myself thinking more and more about baseball and the Kansas City Royals.  I view the AL Central as a relatively weak division this season because unlike the other divisions, there really aren’t any big boys like the Yankees and Red Sox in the East, and the Rangers and Angels in the West.  At the risk of sounding like a homer, I think the Royals can compete for the division title this year.  Evidently, Dayton Moore and the Royals’ brain trust do not.

It has been a fairly quiet off season for the Royals.  They made a big splash early on during the hot stove season by trading Melky Cabrera, coming off a career year, to the Giants for starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez who suffered through a slightly sup par campaign.  Since then, the only move that has even registered was the idiotic signing of Yuniesky Betancourt as a utility infielder, because his glove is so good!  As this hot stove season begins to cool down, two free agent pitchers are still sitting around with no contracts.  One is Roy Oswalt, who I think could be signed for a 1-year, $10 million deal, plus incentives.  The other is Edwin Jackson, who is probably going to garner a 4-year, $48 million contract.  While each has his warts, both would be an improvement over some of the starters the Royals are going to run out there every five days.

Dayton Moore has hinted strongly that the Royals will not be signing either pitcher and probably won’t be pulling off anymore staggering trades between now and the start of the season.  They want to see what they have in Felipe Paulino, Danny Duffy, Mike Montgomery, Jake Odorizzi, and others.  They don’t want anyone to block the development of these young prospects. 

The question I have to ask is when will it be next year?  As a Royals fan, we have been waiting forever for a competing team.  We keep hearing about the process.  Things have to be done a certain way.  We heard 2011 was going to be the year Kansas City challenged for a Central title.  Then it was 2012.  Now, it seems to be 2013.  Why not 2012?  Why not go for it just a little bit.  Take a chance on one of those free agents pitchers and just go for it!  Now may be the time.  The problem is we probably won’t get the chance to find out.

The Royals’ recently vaunted minor league system really started to produce in 2011.  We all know the list of young bats and bullpen arms that performed very well in 2011.  Is it not possible for the offense, as a unit on the whole, to match or improve its numbers from last season?  Is it unreasonable to expect that the deep and talented bullpen can’t do the same in 2012?  If these two things happen in 2012, wouldn’t a stronger rotation only be a good thing.  Young pitchers can contribute and develop in AAA and as depth in case of injuries.  For years, this organization has rushed guys in the majors.  Is it so bad to be patient now that there is a chance for an improved MLB roster?

It is my opinion that the AL Central is ripe for the picking.  Two teams, the Twins and White Sox, while not officially rebuilding, are certainly in a big transitional stage.  Both have big questions both offensively and on the mound for 2012.  The Indians were one of these surprise teams of 2011 and they in a similar position as the Royals.  They have some young players they are counting on to be productive.  They have some talent on their pitching staff but they have numerous question marks.  The Indians could go either way in the standings; nothing is for certain in Cleveland.  The reigning Central champs are the Tigers and while they have Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera, there are several holes in the line-up.  They are really lacking at third and second and their outfield is inconsistent.  It will be difficult, if not impossible, to fully replace the bat of Victor Martinez, who is out for the season.  If the Tigers can’t fill those holes and their pitchers regress, they could be vulnerable.

Oswalt or Jackson could be just the thing to put the Royals over the top in this division.  Oswalt could offer invaluable leadership for a young staff.  He is a bulldog, ground ball pitcher who has battled injuries in recent seasons.  Still, if healthy, he would really add quality depth to the rotation.  Edwin Jackson has been inconsistent in the past but is still just 28 years old and wouldn’t be out of line with the Royals’ youth movement.  And he is durable.  I have a hard time believing he wouldn’t be an asset. 

For all we know, the Royals will take every step forward in every area and with every position and will compete on 2012.  This is not likely.  Maybe the young rotation and prospects in the minors will makes strides forward and no longer be the weak link on the club.  Maybe Moore knows exactly what he is doing and the Royals will compete for the AL Central title in 2012.  I hope so because I am tired of waiting for next year. 

(Since writing this a few days ago, the Detroit Tigers signed Prince Fielder to a 9-year contract.  I no longer think signing Oswalt or Jackson would help the Royals win the AL Central in 2012.  If things went absolutely right for Kansas City and absolutely wrong for the Tigers, it is still possible for the Royals to win.  Those are two very big ifs...)

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Thoughts on Charlie Weis

Two different friends of mine, who don’t know each other, reacted to KU hiring Charlie Weis as the new Jayhawk football coach with the same exact word – underwhelming.  I was astonished at their reaction.  I mean, just who did they think Kansas was going to get for the job?  Let’s face this simple fact – the job of the football coach at the University of Kansas is not a plum job.  It isn’t even a stepping stone for later success at other schools with better programs.  Who was the last KU football coach who went on to another, better program, let alone had success?  I can’t think of a single one.  Not one. 

So, just who were my friends expecting KU to hire?  Why would any hot commodity young coach from a smaller school in a non-BCS conference come here?  Just how did the careers of Terry Allen and Turner Gill turn out?  Why would any coach want to come to a basketball school in a football conference?  Why would any big time coach come to Kansas to take over a team coming off a 2-10 season (and it wasn’t even THAT good, really)?  Just how enticing would it be to take over a team that is the reigning bottom dweller in a powerhouse conference, a school with exactly six seasons with more than eight victories (1899, 1905, 1908, 1968, 1995, and 2007)? 

The hiring of Charlie Weis is a home run hire for the Jayhawks.  Period.  Charlie Weiss is the biggest name KU fans could ever hope for.  He may be the biggest name hire for KU in their history, certainly in my lifetime.  Only two coaches since 1953 have had winning records at KU (Jack Mitchell and Mark Mangino, each just 2 games over .500) so I can’t imagine there were hordes of big time coaches trampling each other to take over the reins to this team.  Whether or not Weis is successful really isn’t an issue at this point and time.  This hire of Charlie Weis at this time was a terrific coup for Athletic Director Sheahon Zenger.

Charlie Weis has done a good job filling out his staff as well.  He kept the one guy he should have from the previous regime in Reggie Mitchell.  I love the hire of Tim Grunhard as the offensive line coach.  Grunhard had a successful pro career with the Chiefs and has been a successful high school coach.  This was a natural progression in his career and he knows what it takes to be successful as a player.  There are several coaches I just don’t know much about and there doesn’t seem to be much, if any, negative reactions to them.  I am going to assume they will do a better job than the previous coaches.

I do know about Dave Campo.  Again, I think this is a fantastic hire.  I don’t care he hasn’t coached at the college level for twenty-some years.  He was successful at the college level before having terrific success on the professional level.  He knows defense and he knows how to coach players.  That is all I want.  Many times last season, the defense simply looked uncoached and that is not acceptable.  I was also thrilled Weis brought back local boy, Clint Bowen, as the special teams coach.  KU special teams have been awful over the last two years and Bowen had great success with these units in the past.  Not only was it a good PR move, it was an astute football hire.

Now that this staff is in place, it will be a matter of time before we see if they can actually coach the players on campus.  Their job will be to bring players to fit their system and to coach them up.  Weis has already garnered three transfers with good reputations, if not some mixed on the field results.  I trust Weis knows what he is doing when it comes to recruiting and can get this program back on the right track.  Weis’ record at Notre Dame was 35-27.  He was fired by the Irish; if he puts up that record here in his first five years, he will be a god.  I know it is all relative but I would be thrilled with 35 wins in five seasons.

Don’t expect a huge improvement on the record next season.  I just am not sure how much talent he was to work with for 2012.  I just want see an improvement in play.  I want to see a team that looks like they have been coached.  It is a tough row to hoe to make big strides in the Big XII.  If KU wins four games and is competitive in their losses, this will be a huge step forward.  It will be going forward, not backward.  I will have faith Weis will get this program on the right track.

One more thing – now that Weis is going to return the names to the back of the jerseys, he now needs to return the Jayhawk to the helmets.

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Grading the Kansas City Chiefs

In early September, I made my prediction that they Kansas City Chiefs probably wouldn’t win more than 4-6 games.  Well, I was off – they won a surprising 7 games.  Nearly everything else I talked about in that post played out as I discussed.  It is not often I nail something so squarely on the head as I did about the Chiefs in 2011.  Now I am going to pass out my grades for the Chiefs.

COACHING AND FRONT OFFICE

F

I am going to start right at the top and I am going to be harsh.  If this team could win 7 games and be a home win in week 16 against Oakland away from winning the crappiest division in football, think how good this team might have been with even slightly better management.  At the end of the lockout, Scott Pioli sat on his wallet and did almost nothing to address the incredible lack of depth on this team.  I don’t know who made the decision to let Brian Waters go but he was signed by the Patriots and made the Pro Bowl – again.  Obviously he was washed up.  Pioli signed LT Jared Gaither early but released him after Thanksgiving after only playing a few snaps.  The Chargers picked him up and started him almost immediately and I read a quote from Philip Rivers where Rivers said Gaither had solidified their offensive line.  Pioli and Haley deserved F’s for those moves alone. 

Injuries wracked the Chiefs early and often and Kansas City did not have quality back-ups.  Green Bay last season and Houston in 2011 proved you can have numerous players lost for the seasons and still have the depth to win playoff games.  Pioli did not have this team manned with enough quality players.  Haley did his part.  After another lackluster preseason, the Chiefs got stomped early in the first two games and even though he rallied the troops for a 4-game winning streak, his decision making was suspect.  Again, I am not sure whose decision it was to have Tyler Palko as the back-up to Matt Cassel but it was an awful one.  It helped speed along Haley’s exit and rightfully so.

There is plenty of blame to go around as far as the front office and coaching goes and it is hard to list every short coming.  Suffice it to say, they failed utterly in 2011.

QUARTERBACK

D

Matt Cassel was not going to reproduce his 27/7 touchdown to interception ratio of 2010 no matter how many games he played in 2011.  He was at 10/9 when he got hurt in game ten.  His passer rating was nearly 20 points lower as well.  That being said, Tyler Palko made him look like Peyton Manning.  I am not sure how Palko was even on a NFL roster.  He was awful.  Kyle Orton was a bright spot for the front office but Haley really didn’t want to play him, which was another reason to see Haley to the door.  Cassel probably played above his head last season when he got more blocking and his 2011 performance is probably closer to what he can offer year in and year out.  That isn’t very good.  Orton played well enough to at least warrant contract talks for 2012 but I can’t imagine him on the roster with Cassel.

RUNNINGBACK

C

We all knew it was trouble when Jamal Charles went down in game two.  Thomas Jones’ best days are behind him and try as he might, he just couldn’t get rolling on any consistent basis.  Jackie Battle conquered his fumble issues and provided some good work but couldn’t wrestle the job away from Jones, then later, Dexter McCluster.  McCluster was the most effective runner the Chiefs could field but he was by no means a punishing runner.  Le’Ron McClain offered up some toughness and effective blocking at times.  While none of these guys were just terrible, none of them were good enough to claim the job as the main back.  Who received the bulk of the carries seemed to vary from game to game.  I don’t discount their combined effort, just their talent.  They certainly are back-ups and shouldn’t be counted on to shoulder the load for any length of time.

WIDE RECEIVERS AND TIGHT ENDS

WR – B, TE – F

Dwayne Bowe continued to make spectacular, incredible catches and he continued to drop routine balls in key situations.  Bowe could be dominating, physical star in this league if he could maintain his focus all of the time and stop dropping so many passes.  Steve Breaston was solid for most of the season and exhibited good toughness.  Rookie Jonathon Baldwin missed the first five games due to mouthing off to the wrong guy in the locker room in preseason and getting his rear kicked and never really got it going.  He showed a few flashes but dropped his share as well.  He will continue to get better.  The tight ends are not worth the time to list individually and were awful as a group.  Tony Moeaki may have been the biggest single loss of the season.  The wide receivers were probably the strongest part of the offense but still exhibited too much inconsistency.  The tight ends were just terrible.

OFFENSIVE LINE

C-

I have a hard time believing there are many starting tackles worse than Barry Richardson.  He is slow and gets manhandled on a regular basis.  He should be strictly a back-up to fill in when a starter needs a play or two off.  I love Casey Wiegmann and his streak of 11,000 plus straight snaps is as impressive as any record you will see but he is old and very undersized and seemed to get pushed back on a consistent basis.  I was disappointed the Chiefs seemed more interested in keeping Weigmann’s streak in place instead of getting rookie Rodney Hudson some experience.  Brandon Albert seems better fitted to be a right tackle but played fairly well.  We saw growth out of Jon Asamoah.  Ryan Lilja looks to be on the downside of his career.  Major rebuilding needs to be done here but that has been the case for several years now.

DEFENSIVE LINE

D

The Chiefs continue to be blind to the fact that Tyson Jackson was a gigantic mistake and Glenn Dorsey has been a relative bust.  Neither player has made the necessary steps toward being legitimate forces on the d-line.  Both get pushed off the line too often and neither can mount any sort of pass rush.  Free agent acquisition Kelly Gregg played okay against the run but also offered no pressure on passing downs.  I thought the line played much better when back-ups rookie Allen Bailey, Amon Gordon, and Wallace Gilbury were in the game.  The starters may have had a slight advantage against the run but the second team was much better at pressuring the quarterback.  The Chiefs have to find an effective nose tackle and a legitimate starting defensive end if they hope to improve this horrible unit.

LINEBACKERS

A-

Tamba Hali continues to do amazing work getting to the quarterback considering he gets almost no help from his line.  Derrick Johnson continues to get better each year and has become a major force in that defense.  The Chiefs’ defense improved late in the season and it was due mainly to the improvement of rookie Justin Houston.  Houston started very slowly but ended up being a legitimate threat to sack the quarterback late in the season.  His 5.5 sacks really give me hope for the future for this unit.  Jovan Belcher is a steady, if totally unspectacular performer in the middle.  Belcher could be upgraded but compared to the other glaring holes on this team, improving the linebacker corps is not a priority.  It could use some help with depth via free agency but I hope they don’t waste any high draft picks here.

DEFENSIVE BACKS

B+

The Brandons – Carr and Flowers – have really solidified the cornerback position for Kansas City.  They have become shut down corners on both sides and if the Chiefs could find any way to pressure the quarterback, these cornerbacks would become even more valuable.  Back up Javier Arenas has gotten better and is a decent nickel back.  Eric Berry lost a full season of development with his season long injury and I can only hope he returns the same player as before.  Kendrick Lewis at safety improved in 2011 but needs help from Berry to be at his best.  John McGraw would be just fine as a back-up but he gets exposed when he plays a lot.  The rest of the stiffs the Chiefs ran out there on a weekly basis all need to improve or be upgraded mightily.  Still, this group of players is the Chiefs second strongest squad on the team and just need better quality in its depth.

SPECIAL TEAMS

C+

Dustin Colquitt is an underrated punter who never worries about his stats.  He is more than willing to do what he has to do help his team win the field position battle.  His stats aren’t as eye catching as others around the league but there aren’t many I would trade him for.  I am a big fan.  Succop would have pushed this part of the grade to above average it weren’t for the two blocked field goals against the Raiders.  Nothing really stands out to me about the return game so I give an average grade here.

Overall, the team receives a C-.  They won a game or two I wouldn’t have predicted but they also lost a couple of games they shouldn’t have.  At times they were horrible, getting blown out in lopsided fashion.  At other times, their defense played well enough to keep them in games  This off season, the Chiefs need to address both the offensive and defensive lines, in free agency if possible.  I would love for the Chiefs give up some picks to get Robert Griffin III and spend some money in free agency.  With better health and more depth, there is no reason not think the Chiefs can’t win the weak AFC West. 

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